Self-lubricating crosshead



May 27, 1924. 1,495,877

I... J. BLACK SELF LUBRICATING QROSSl-HEIAI.)

Filed June 9, 1923 Patentecl May 27, 1924.

UNITED STATES.

LEE J. BLACK, 01 BEnu onr, Tnxns.

- SELF-LUBRIGATIN G CROSSHEAD.

Application filed June 9, 1923. Serial No. 644,423.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LE J. BL K, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beau mont, in the county of J etferson and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Self-Lubricating Crossheads, of which th following is'a specificaw 7 tion.

, these abutments.

This invention relates tothe slush pumps which are used with hydraulic rotary drilling mechanisms, and particularly to the cross heads thereof.

In all of the standardforms of slush pump known to me, the valve actuating rocker arm is connected to the connecting rod extending between the pump piston and the steam piston by a cross head, the cross head being formed with two abutments spaced from each other and the rocker arm having a pin or equivalent device extending into the space between said abutments so that as the pistons reciprocate the rocker arm will be oscillated to thereby actuate the steam valves. In none of the slush pumps known to me is any special provision made for lubricating thepin and roller which is carried by the lower end of the rocker arm and which is disposed between and engages This part of the mechanism, if it is oiled at all, is oiled by the ordinary oil can.

' The general object of my invention is to provide means for automatically lubricating the roller and pin upon which it is mounted.

' A further object is to provide a cross head having therein a reservoir, means being provided whereby oil may be conducted from the reservoir onto the roller to thus lubricat the bearing for the roller and the roller itself and through the roller the opposing faces of the abutments.

A still further object is to provide a device of this character so constructed that upon the upward movement of the roller between theabutments lubricant will bepositively discharged upon the roller.

Other objects have to dowith the details of construction and arrangement of parts as will appear more fully hereinafter.

invention is illustrated in the accom- I panying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a fragmentary sideelevation 0f across head and rocker arm such as is used in slushpumps, the cross head being partly broken away and the pin and roller being in section;

Figure 2 is a section onthe line 22 of Fig- 1 l; Figure 3 i a frag nt ry sectiwea'the ame Pla a Fi u e but showing th ma e rm scilla ed and the ma ne in w i h li vr l rsqeeez heviek- I l Re tr na q the draw g si n t he pi t n rod adi thesWmfivlihde f a lus P mp e d desi ate the piston rod leading to-the cylinder,

these piston rods having, screw threaded extrem ies, a ,l2;,eilsag able 'th' iids f an intermediate, sectionor cross head l3.

Th p e s" heed 1 3 h s se l a ap rt es 14: i wh h theri to red tsets and is formed with downwardlyextending eb ieeent le h aeeeee e s jie from each other to provide vertical passageway 16 between abutments; The cross head 13 is formed to provide "a lubricant chamber 17, the cross head having an opening 18 in its top closed by a plug-19 whereby lubricating. oil may be fed into the chamber 17. The bottom of the chamber is formed with a passageway 20' extending downward and openingupon the upperfa'ce of the recess" 16. The rocker arm 21 is of the usual type and mounted upon the shaft 22. This rocker arm is operatively connected by means (not shown) to the vvalves of the steam dome. The lower. end of the rocker arm is bifurcated to provide two parallel yoke p0rtions23 and through these portions passes the pin 24 which is headed at one end and providedwith va cotter pin 25 at the other. Mountedupon this pin 24 androtatable thereon and disposedbetween the arms 23 is the roller 26 which is formed with radialapertures 27. Extending downward through the aperture 20 is a "wick 28, this wick being preferably folded uponitself and the bight being passed down through the aperture 27 and extende ddownwa'rd suficiently so that it rests upon the outer face of the roller 26 when the roller is in its lowest position in 1e guideway or passage- Way 16. i v It will be seenthat when the rocker arm movesto the right, or to the left from the position shown in Figure 1,'that' the roller will move upward within the passageway 16 and will compress this wick and squeeze the oil therefrom and this will occur each time that the roller moves upwardinto the upper portion of the recessorpassageway 16. 'The oil squeezed from the wick will pass through the openings 27 to the surface of the pin 24 and will lubricate the surface of this pin and will also lubricate the surface of the rollers and these rollers in turn will carry the oil to and apply it against the faces of the abutments so that the cross head will be automatically lubricated as the pump operates.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the cross head is formed at its ends with the outwardly projecting portions 29 into which the screw threaded ends of the piston rods 10' and 11 are screwed, and in order to hold these piston rods in place in the cross head and prevent any accidental detachment of the piston rod, jam nuts 30 are applied to the screwthreaded portions of the piston rod and abutted against the ends of the screwthreaded portions 29.

The construction which I have described permits the ready detachment of the piston rods from the cross head in order to insert a new cross head or to disassemble the machine and, of course, permits as ready an assembly of the machine. The lubrication is automatic and constant. One of the important advantages of this invention is that the guideway 16 between the abutments 15 is open at its lower end so that any mud, grit or other foreign matter which might otherwise accumulate between these jaws or abutments 15 will automatically drop away from the roller on the downward stroke of the roller when at its lowest point or near the center. Thus the space between the abutments and the roller itself are automatically cleaned.

I elaimz- 1. In a structure of the character described, a reciprocable element having opposed spaced abutments, an oscillatable element coactingtherewith and having a mem ber extending between said spaced abutments, the reciprocable element having rectilinear movement only and said member moving transversely between the abutments as the oscillatable element is oscillated, and means acting to lubricate said member as it moves transversely between said abutments toward the reciprocable element.

2. In a structure of the character described, a reciprocable element having opposed spaced abutments and an oscillatable element coacting therewith and having a member extending between said opposed abutments, the reciprocable member carrying a lubricating reservoir, and a wick extending through an opening in the reservoir from the reservoir to the member disposed between said abutments.

3. In a structure of the character described, a reciprocable element having op- Vposedspaced abutments and an oscillatable element coacting therewith and having a pin extending between said opposed abutments,

a roller mounted upon said pin, the recipro" cable member carrying a lubricant reservoir, and means for conveying lubricant from the reservoir to the exterior face of the roller.

4:. In a structure of the character described, a reciprocable element having 0pposed spaced abutments, an oscillatable ele-' ment coacting therewith, a pin carried by the oscillatable element and extending be tween said abutments, a roller mounted upon the pin. and having radial openings, the reciprocable element being formed to provide a lubricant reservoir, and a wick extending from said reservoir into the space between said abutments and adapted to contact: with said roller.

5. In a structure of the character described, a reciprocable element having opposed spaced abutments constituting vertical guides spaced from each other at their lower ends, an oscillatable element coacting therewith and having a pin extending between said abutments, a roller mounted upon the pin and provided with openings extending from the surface of the roller to said pin, the abutments being spaced from each other at their lower ends and there being an aperture leading from the reservoir opening upon the under face of the reservoir between said abutments, and a wick disposed. partially in the reservoir and extending out through said opening and extending downward toward and adapted to contact with the face of the roller.

6. In a structure of the character described, a reciprocable cross' head formed to provide a'reservoir and having below the reservoir two opposed spaced abutments, the abutments being separated at their lower ends, a rocker arm having a yoke embracing said cross head and extending downward on each side of the abutments, a pinmounted upon the yoke and extending between said abutments, a roller loosely mounted upon the pin and having apertures extending through to the pin, the wall fo-rmin the bottom of the reservoir beingaperture and a wick disposedpartially in said reservoir spaced abutments separated at their lower ends, the bottom of thereservoir between the upper ends of the said abutments being apertured and the reservoir having filling means, a rocker arm bifurcated to provide a yoke embracing the cross head, a pin extending through the lower end of the yoke and extending between theabutments of the cross head, a roller loosely mounted upon the pin and having apertures extending through to the pin from the surface of the roller, and a wick of flexible material partially disposed within the reservoir and extending through said aperture in the bottom thereof and extending downward into the space between the abutments, that portion of the wick disposed between the abutments being flexible whereby as the roller rises in the space between the abutments it may compress the Wick to force the lubricant therefrom.

8. In a structure of the character described, 21 reciprocable element having opposed spaced abutments, an oscillatable element coacting therewith and having a member extending between said spaced abutments, the reciprocable element having rectilinear movement only and said member moving transversely between the abutments as the oscillatable member is oscillated, and means acting to lubricate said member as it moves transversely between said abutments toward the reciprocable element and including a Wick carried by the reciprocable element and extending toward said member and compressed by the member as the member moves transversely between the abutments toward the reciprocable member.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

,. LEE J. BLACK. 

